Catholics for Choice
Founded in 1973, Catholics For Choice (CFC) is not like most Catholic organizations. It is unusual because CFC goes against many dictates of the Vatican on matters related to sex, marriage, family life and motherhood. As a result it is chastised by some, yet has established itself as a significant resource to those Catholics who want to make moral decisions about their lives on the basis of their own conscience, and not decisions imposed by the Catholic hierarchy.
Recently, the Washington D.C. based think tank released the results of a poll showing that the majority of Catholics have been misrepresented by the U.S. bishops in the debate over health care reform. Their study found that Catholic voters support health insurance coverage for abortions – either in a private or government-run plan. The following are the results from the poll as shown on their website:
When a pregnancy poses a threat to the life of a woman (84 percent approve)
When a pregnancy is due to rape or incest (76 percent approve)
When a pregnancy poses long-term health risks for the woman (73 percent approve)
When test results show a fetus has a severe abnormal condition (66 percent approve)
According to a CDC report, researchers found that the number of illegal abortions a year dropped by over 100,000 once it became legal in the United States . It also found that of 17 women who died from illegal abortions between 1975-1979, six had sought an illegal abortion primarily because of financial constraints. By pushing to make abortion affordable and accessible to all demographics as a part of health care form, CFC is taking another step towards achieving their goal of enabling women to make responsible and moral decisions regarding their own lives.
CFC president Jon O’Brien said, “Conservatives, including the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, have been presenting their own views as an accurate representation of all US Catholics. This poll clearly demonstrates that the bishops do not represent Catholic voters. Catholics have compassion. They want everybody to have access to comprehensive health care—including abortion in many circumstances. It is telling that the US bishops have done two polls on abortion recently. On neither occasion did they poll only Catholics. We did and the results are clear: US Catholic voters see reproductive health care as part of a comprehensive health care package—and that includes abortion for women who need it.”
Abortion is only one facet of the CFC mission. To learn more about other areas of focus and how to lend a hand by donating or giving your time, please visit their website.
